Framing ain't easy
A friend and I led a discussion of "Don't Think of an Elephant" at an independent book store in Portland this evening. Not surprisingly only half of the 25 the people there had READ the book (am I just a goody-goody student? aren't you supposed to READ the book before you go to a book group?).
We spent the first half hour of the discussion bringing folks up to speed with Lakoff's theories of the strict father and nurturant parent family models and how that played out in current politics. The second half hour was talking about THEM (the Republican framing machine) and how they'd boxed us in a corner. This was the easy stuff.
The last half hour was the HARD part. OK Ms. Smarty Pants, how DO you talk about your progressive agenda? your progressive moral values?
We spoke some about reframing abortion in broader terms: a person's right to privacy and to control over their own bodies. That the government shouldn't decide what goes on in your own body... this would be something a conservative might appreciate.
But there are so many issues, big and small, that need ready frames. A guy in the group mentioned that his co-worker said "We shouldn't fund public transportation." And he was stopped with his jaw hanging because he didn't have a quick comeback.
Me, too. The other night I was getting gas and the guy at the next pump - well-dressed, middle-aged, BMW, definitely not a red-neck - sees my bumper sticker "Defend America, Defeat Bush", and says "I can't believe you have that bumper sticker on your car... must be your idiot teenager put it on there. Why don't you take it off?"
And my response? "Heh. Actually I put it on there. Heh." When I'm caught totally off guard, as I was there, I am tongue-tied, useless. Probably the introvert in me. By the time I got ten miles down the road I had all sorts of responses worked out, but they sure weren't there when I needed them.
After the meeting I confessed my inadequacies to a friend (trial lawyer) who suggested that the best punt is to ask a question back instead of trying to respond. Buys time and puts them on the spot to explain their own point of view. For example, the first response to the guy disssing public transportation might have been, "What do you think funds our public highways?? "
The response to the guy who didn't like my bumper sticker might have been some variation of "In what ways is America stronger since Bush was elected?"
At the least it gets them thinking. Meanwhile, I need to do a whole lot more about coming up with brief "elevator speeches" on the issues that mean most to me.
We spent the first half hour of the discussion bringing folks up to speed with Lakoff's theories of the strict father and nurturant parent family models and how that played out in current politics. The second half hour was talking about THEM (the Republican framing machine) and how they'd boxed us in a corner. This was the easy stuff.
The last half hour was the HARD part. OK Ms. Smarty Pants, how DO you talk about your progressive agenda? your progressive moral values?
We spoke some about reframing abortion in broader terms: a person's right to privacy and to control over their own bodies. That the government shouldn't decide what goes on in your own body... this would be something a conservative might appreciate.
But there are so many issues, big and small, that need ready frames. A guy in the group mentioned that his co-worker said "We shouldn't fund public transportation." And he was stopped with his jaw hanging because he didn't have a quick comeback.
Me, too. The other night I was getting gas and the guy at the next pump - well-dressed, middle-aged, BMW, definitely not a red-neck - sees my bumper sticker "Defend America, Defeat Bush", and says "I can't believe you have that bumper sticker on your car... must be your idiot teenager put it on there. Why don't you take it off?"
And my response? "Heh. Actually I put it on there. Heh." When I'm caught totally off guard, as I was there, I am tongue-tied, useless. Probably the introvert in me. By the time I got ten miles down the road I had all sorts of responses worked out, but they sure weren't there when I needed them.
After the meeting I confessed my inadequacies to a friend (trial lawyer) who suggested that the best punt is to ask a question back instead of trying to respond. Buys time and puts them on the spot to explain their own point of view. For example, the first response to the guy disssing public transportation might have been, "What do you think funds our public highways?? "
The response to the guy who didn't like my bumper sticker might have been some variation of "In what ways is America stronger since Bush was elected?"
At the least it gets them thinking. Meanwhile, I need to do a whole lot more about coming up with brief "elevator speeches" on the issues that mean most to me.
posted by JoieDe at 10:20 PM
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